Removing Oil Spots in the Driveway

[zevenbergena]

My friend told me, "911's don't leak oil, they mark their territory." I found this hilarious, my parents find it abhorent now that they are in the process of selling their house. There's a good couple spots on the driveway and in the garage that they would really like me to get rid of. Are there any trade secrets or amazing products that anyone knows of that will help get these out?

[Gogar]

Get a big bag of CHEAP kitty-litter (no fancy stuff), and a pair of big work boots.

Spread the kitty litter on the oil spot, let it sit for a while, and then walk all over it with the boots, twisting and grinding it into the cement. Do this untl you've covered the whole area you're trying to get at, and sweep up.

[CT944]

Spray some engine degreaser and let it sit for 15 mins before hosing off.

[zevenbergena]

It is slightly (read:quite, oops) soaked in. Will the kitty litter be able to pull a little bit out of the concrete do you think?

[zevenbergena]

ohh degreaser, good stuff...

[Scott Douglas]

I've had pretty good luck using Simple Green. Scrub with a heavy duty nylon brush and hose off. It's biodegradable too so is a little more friendly to the environment.

[porsche930dude]

There is a powdery orange type of floor cleaner that shops use to clean their floors i dont know what its called but the stuff works great. Id stop at a small independent shop (the kind without a-holes) and ask what they use. Maby they'll even let you have a scoup of it

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by zevenbergena

It is slightly (read:quite, oops) soaked in. Will the kitty litter be able to pull a little bit out of the concrete do you think?

I've always been REALLY surprised at how much it can get. Also, the gray color of the kitty litter blends with the concrete color.

If not, +1 for Simple green. I've tried the engine degreaser too, but it's a more caustic experience.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Powerwasher.

[DasBoot]

Muriatic Acid (diluted, if you're chicken). Use caution.

[Bart_dood]

MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) will de-grease/de-oil ANYTHING, but beware, it will dissolve tarmac and any paint, it evaporates quickly. Don't get it on your hands.

[euro911sc]

Depends on what the surface is made of...

I have pavers that were sealed on the driveway and one time changing the oil I forgot to open the air hole in the drain pan... I was only gone a few seconds before that 'Oh S!!T' moment, but the oil was every where....

After getting all the wet stuff up with paper towels I used the cheap kitty litter to get the rest up... or most of the rest.

Now, here is my secret method... go buy a bottle of Dawn dish washing liquid and a stiff brush. Boil some water and throw it onto the stain. Then pour a bunch of the dawn on the stain and scrub a dub dub with the stiff brush. Let it sit for an hour with the soap on it. Come back with another pot or three of boiling water and rinse. To this day I have a really hard time finding the spill...

for concrete use the acid... I'm not sure it would be good for asphalt though.

Best regards,

Michael

[JFairman]

heat, get it hot.

then pressure clean it for quite a while with tightly focuse nozzle with at least 1600psi.

then pour phosphoric acid on and brush it, watching it eat the lime in the concrete. then rinse with water. go in steps if it foams too fast.
experiment with the acid. muriatic acid is ok but not as powerful.

if that doesn't work, paint it.

[Mitch Leland]

Someone once told me to use carburetor cleaner on concrete oil stains, I've never tried it...

[NY65912]

Castrol makes a Purple colored (bottle & product) degreaser that is great.

I've used it on both concrete and brick pavers with very good results.

[sean m]

+1 on the Simple Green.........with a kicker.
Soak the spot in the Simple Green, let sit a few minutes, scrub with nylon brush a few minutes, put down the Kitty litter and let it soak, sweep it up.

[Porsche_monkey]

Assuming it is concrete spray it with WD-40 and cover it with a plastic sheet for 48 hours. The pour on the kitty litter and wait a few days before you sweep up.

[JMPRO]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Get a big bag of CHEAP kitty-litter (no fancy stuff), and a pair of big work boots.

Spread the kitty litter on the oil spot, let it sit for a while, and then walk all over it with the boots, twisting and grinding it into the cement. Do this untl you've covered the whole area you're trying to get at, and sweep up.

This is how I have being doing it for years but always let it set for a few days, sweep it into a pile, respread it over the stain, stomp and grind again then in a few days clean it up. In most cases you won't even be able to find the spot you just cleaned. The twisting and grinding part seems to be what makes this effective. When I used to use solvents to try to clean these spots I found the solvents just made the stain bigger and deeper into the cement.

[WERK I]

Originally Posted by Mitch Leland

Someone once told me to use carburetor cleaner on concrete oil stains, I've never tried it...

Yep, it works for small spots. Two sprays on the spot and it's gone.

[safe]

Instead of an oil stain you will get a "to clean" stain.